Denomination

How to spell denomination

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce denomination

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does denomination mean?

1. nounA recognised branch or group within a religion, identified by its own name and traditions.
2. nounA unit in a graded series of values, especially for banknotes, coins or stamps.

Denomination in a sentence

• The hospital chaplain serves patients of every denomination.

• The cashier was short of notes in the smallest denomination.

• Each denomination runs its own services in the shared chapel.

• Collectors pay a premium for stamps of an unusual denomination.

Where does denomination come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin verb denominare, meaning 'to name' or 'to call by a name', formed from the prefix de- used here as an intensifier and the verb nominare, 'to name', which itself rests on the noun nomen, 'name'. The Latin noun denominatio originally referred to the act of naming or to a metaphorical figure of speech. English took the word in during the late 1300s, by way of Old French, at first meaning simply a name or designation given to a class of things. From that root sense of 'naming a category' the word branched into its modern uses: a religious group recognised by its own distinct name, and a unit of value in a graded series, such as a banknote. The same nomen root sits inside 'nominate', 'nominal' and 'noun', and noticing that buried 'nomin' (one n, then another in -nation) is the best guard against misspelling.

How the word is built

• de- (intensive/completely)
• nomin (from nomen: name)
• -ation (noun of action or result)